The Move...

My job got full of drama suddenly, so I started applying around. Little did I know it would end up with a major relocation. It meant leaving my build buddies behind and venturing to a new city. Of course, no moving company wanted to haul my trike. As a parting gift my welder, C, made a special trailer hitch to take the trike with me. Luckily C is also an engineer and ran the specifications for the frame through the CAD before we proceeded with the construction.

When mounted in the trailer hitch it provides the perfect placement for the front wheel of the trike.

This way the rear wheels balance the weight of the load and we are ready to go.

One sunny morning we left the compound where the trike was built and towed her 1100 miles to our new home in Seattle.

More photos of the relocation process once I get them scanned and uploaded.

Showing Off the Completed Project

     In May we had the trike painted and she was ready to show off. The frame is metal flake silver for that complete retro look. The tank and fenders are midnight blue. The first event where we showed her off was Long Beach Pride. My friend Stacey rode with me as my passenger.

     In early June we participated in West Hollywood events. Lainie joined me on this adventure. Here is us getting ready for the ride.

     We were a bit late taking off and got stuck in traffic so we barely caught up to the crowd to lead the march.

     Sunday of that same weekend was the big Christopher Street West Pride Parade. My friend Jules was my passenger and my friend Severn rode with us as an ally.

    Every year at the end of June is the Born Free chopper event. Much like we had for the David Mann festival in December. We rode out as a group to attend the event. When we got to the front gate security routed me into the show grounds so my trike was on display for everyone to see.

Riding with Friends

I built a three wheeled, two seat, chopper. This means I can take friends with me wherever I go. Certainly throughout the build people have been excited to ride it with me. Of course, who actually gets on the back with me for a spin (even just around the block or parking lot) is not always who I would think is brave enough to go for a ride.

 Of course, the first several trips, I had my brave passenger Ry with me, as my mechanic.

This is us getting ready to leave David Mann Chopper Fest December 2012. You can see the fenders mounted in their original configuration.

A few weeks later we went to the Chopper show in Anaheim. Now you can see the fenders are gone.

But the event was lame enough we will NOT be going back. Overpriced and nothing nice.

In between my friend Severn's mom came to visit for Christmas.

He made me take her for a ride. Luckily she was married to a biker and thought my ride was much more comfortable. Still no fenders.

Another winter evening when the days were short and the nights were long I met my friend Natalie for dinner.

And took her home riding on the trike. Since then I have invested in clear goggles for night time passenger use.

As the days warmed up more people came over for a ride.

 Jules joined me for a trip around the block. Still no fenders.

Becky came out for her birthday with all her color coordinated biker gear.

And we rode to the movies. This picture was taken at a stop light.

Then Tacey and her daughter Teague came over for a spin. Tacey, being the parent rode first to show her daughter how safe it is.

Of course I had to tease her because she was wearing a skirt. I gave her my sweatshirt to tuck in her lap to prevent complete wind up the skirt. Still no fenders, but you can see the rear rack has been mounted.

Then it was Teague's turn.

This is the face of a child who gets annoyed with a parent taking too many pictures.

The last few need to be viewed in a sequence. If I was smarter I could load them as a moving picture.
First Teague is anxiously awaiting her ride as I start up the motor

Then she begins to get excited as we slowly start to roll forward

I can't tell in this picture if she is still excited, or if she has begun to become slightly scared

I personally find great glee in people riding behind me and squealing as we go.

 Most recently I took Bob for a spin...

Though not pictured here Bob and I drove through a drive-thru so he could pick up dinner. Everyone who saw us had to stop and take a look. And now the fenders are back on and the rear tailpipes have been built.

While these are not all my friends who have taken a ride with me these are the few that left photographic evidence. Hopefully more will come as time goes on.

Additions and Modifications Part 1

Once we had the trike up and running it was time to start working on extra features we did not have time for as well as re-doing some things that needed to change. 

The plan all along was to have tall smokestack tailpipes in the back. C decided to build a luggage rack to support them. First he custom designed and welded the rack.

Then he attached it to the back hoop of the frame. 

After which he put in side bars for additional support. 

Once each side was supported the rack was sturdy enough I could sit upon it, bounce up and down, and the rack still held. 

We temporarily mounted the license plate from it because we needed to remount the fenders.

The original fender mount fabrication was not strong enough. Additionally, I got feedback from my friends who rode back there that it was a little scary being able to see the inside of the wheel go round and round.

C re-engineered the fender mounts with gussets and cut some sheet metal to make into inner fenders.

This is one of my favorite pictures from this phase of the build because you can see C swinging the mallet as he prepares to strike the red hot metal.

Once the metal was form fitted to fill the gap between the fender and hoop it was welded on.

Smoothed over with Bondo

And painted with primer. In this photo you can also see a smaller hoop with a center plate. That will be the mount for the storage boxes.

I had custom storage boxes made to hold helmets, goggles, and tools. There was a guy on Ebay who made boxes and I contacted him for the custom size.

I also got tractor exhaust caps to put on the smokestack tail pipes. 

The normal size exhaust port for a VW bug motor is 1.25” outer diameter. I did not want little bitty pea-shooter pipes for my exhaust. I got some 1.25” OD pipe and some 2.25” OD pipe since that is the size of motorcycle tailpipes. (If you are curious the ones they use on semi-trucks are 5”-8” in outer diameter.) Using the trusty pipe bender C curved the smaller pipe to fit with the engine ports and then cut out a section from the larger pipe and heated it up to shape the two pieces to fit together. The rack that was designed to support them did a terrific job. Here is a view of the pipes from the rear with the flapper caps on.

In this picture you can also see the new taillights. There is one red and one amber on either side of the rack. They are shaped like the headlight to give a uniform look to the ride.

 

Here is a view of the pipes from the front with the flapper caps on. You can also see the mounted diamond plate storage boxes. I chose to use diamond plate since it matches the plates we have covering the electrical that also serve as steps into the back seat.

Due to the expense of chroming this much metal I decided to paint the pipes with high temperature paint. Eventually I will paint the pipes with a metallic black layer of high temperature paint. 

 With these pipes on the trike everyone can hear me coming long before they see me. I put some bezels in the tops to reduce the sound a bit so as not to upset Johnny Law. The new sound is only slightly more quiet but also gave the pipes a warmer more throaty sound. I think I now sound like an old WWII corsair plane.

Soon we will be dismantling the trike for painting. Yay!

Road Worthy: Riding the moving beast

Our goal had been to get the trike done in time for the David Mann Chopper Fest 2012 held in Ventura, CA. As the days were checked off on the calendar we also checked off items on the to-do list. The horn was added for safety. The flasher relay had to be swapped out for one that worked with LED lights. Diamond plate boxes were made to cover the electrical panel and battery, plus they served the dual purpose of being steps onto the trike for the passenger. California law requires we have footpegs for the passenger, and A had a vintage bar he was willing to contribute to the project. 

However, all this last minute work meant A) I wasn’t out practice riding the trike and B) we didn’t have the time for thorough final systems check. Throughout the week prior to the festival I would spend as much free time as I could at the shop. Each night I would take her out for a ride a little further away from the nest. Each trip something else went wrong. 

First the shifter linkage popped loose from its moorings. It was an easy short term fix, but a few days later it was decided the piece needed to be re-engineered. This allowed greater stability, but also repositioned the shifter. It meant that 2^nd gear was less close to my belly, which was good, no more popping it out of gear when hitting big bumps in the road. However, it also meant after I had learned how she shifted I had to learn a new pattern. Regularly attempting to downshift from 3^rd to 2^nd I still accidentally hit 4^th instead. The good news is that now finding reverse is even easier. 

Next the wiring acted up. The clasps just slide off the tabs. It is simple to tighten them with pliers. However, it is only after they have fallen off that it is discovered they are loose. First the brake light switch went. Then the starter connection fell off. These are the little things that add up to trouble.

The rear fender mountings continue to be a problem and will have to be re-engineered. Their current design creates friction when turning or the tires bounce. The trouble is the axles move a great deal, it is part of the swing axle design, but we cannot mount the fenders to the axle system. So when the tire moves it hits the fender. Despite re-welding the mounts to allow for greater movement there is still rubbing. We will have to spend some time figuring out how to do it better. 

By the time the event rolled around we had put forth too much time and energy not to attempt to drive out there. However, the morning of the trip was the first time she had been tested on the highway. And of course the ride was not without incidence. First we discovered the throttle was set so low that she could actually move in gear with the clutch out and no gas on the accelerator, and no driver in the seat. That was an exciting adrenaline surge to wake me up in the morning. 

We made the 75 mile drive to Ventura in the twilight hours of morning. Other than being told I was driving too slow it went well. At the event my beauty was one of four trikes at the event, and the only VW trike on the lot. We got a lot of looks. The biggest and most recurring compliment was that she looked comfortable to ride, which she is. Before leaving we had starting issues. Turns out the battery negative cable had bounced off its channel, and the starter connections had bounced off their tab. Both were easy to fix. 

Since it was late and we were all tired and hungry we decided to stop halfway home for dinner at Famous Dave's Barbeque. On the way we stopped to gas up. There were a few fumbled attempts to get back on the road. First, it was discovered that if I floor the accelerator (as was necessary to maintain speed up and over the mountain pass) that the accelerator spring gets caught on the carburetor housing. When that was fixed a different problem arose. Now that her throttle was not open enough to allow the vehicle to move without gas or driver, I didn’t have enough fuel moving through the line, and had to continually pump the accelerator when stopped so the engine wouldn’t die. This was particularly disconcerting while driving through Thousand Oaks on our way to dinner. Roll up to light, let engine die, sit with foot on the brake, when light turns green, hit the gas and the ignition and continue on. Luckily I grew up driving a VW so this strategy was not completely foreign to me. Unfortunately, due to the placement and height of the pedals I was unable to rest the heel of my foot on the brake and pump my toes on the accelerator to keep the engine from dying. Similarly, since the clutch pedal is on the opposite side of the frame from the brake and accelerator I couldn’t use one foot on the brake and the other on the gas. When we pulled up at the restaurant it was discovered that despite buying a turnkey motor there was no fuel filter installed. We looked inside the tank, and while I still had about 1/3 tank left, we could see debris in the tank. Despite new lines, clean motor, new tank, there was still debris. We topped off the tanks for good measure and revved the engine until the debris cleared. We sailed smoothly home with no further glitches riding into town again on the twilight side of the day.

Connections: Lines, Hoses, Wires, etc.

Now that the big parts are done it is time to start worrying about all the little things that are needed to make it run. The pedals are mounted but need to be connected. The fuel lines and brake lines need to run from the front to the back. Electrical parts need wiring.

As you saw earlier the pedals are in place. I bought Jamar Performance pedals which are designed for off-road VW vehicles.

 

The fuel line that connects to the motor is thinner in diameter because that is what a VW bug motor fuel pump can handle.

We converted the trike to disc brakes and hydraulic clutch for safety. The brake line and hydraulic clutch line are mounted to the master cylinder reservoir.

 

the lines run along the trike to the back where the motor sits. Here’s a picture of the pedals and lines from the front

you can see how the lines come up and run along the underside of the tank. Since we went with a split tank design a fuel line needs to run across from one half to the other.

 

The fuel petcock connects the main tank output to the fuel line.

 and then the fuel line also runs along the underside of the tank to the motor in the back.

The fuel line that connects to the motor is thinner in diameter because that is what a VW bug motor fuel pump can handle

The fuel line is bent with a special pipe bending tool 

The brake lines are run the same way but use a different kind of pipe. One of our challenges was going from Army Navy standard pipe fitting sizes to metric VW sizes. Luckily the brake reservoirs had adaptors.

The connection for the shifting mechanism was another challenge. In standard VW bugs the linkage is built into the floor pan and most people do not have to deal with it. In Baja bugs the linkage is longer than we would need for a trike. I ended up ordering a shift linkage kit from Possum Pride Trikes  in Missouri to keep our project moving forward. 

The shift linkage connects the underside of the shift stick

under the body of the vehicle

 and connects to the transmission

 and of course we customized the ride with a signature stick shift handle

California law requires one outside mirror. They had several lying around so I picked the perfect one

The last major challenge was wiring. We did not need an entire bug wiring harness so instead we went with using wires, relays, and a marine fuse block. Once again TrikerDon was a great resource for wiring and wiring diagrams.

C started by welding a flat plate onto the frame for a wiring surface.

I bought cheap trailer LED lights because they need to because the law requires all vehicle lights be DOT approved. Once they were mounted in a place where they were legally visible in all required locations they looked kind of hokey. Eventually they may be replaced once funds have been replenished.

The wires were soldered to the connections and run along the frame.

Once we have running lights, brake lights, and turn lights, we mount small reverse lights below. 

When all the wiring is finished the terminal block is much fuller. We used a marine grade fuse box since the trike will spend its entire time outdoors.

Now that the wiring is complete we can start her up and take her for a drive. However, she is not quite done.